NGO plays 'Padman' to empower women in Sabarmati jail

Pilot project set up to make sanitary pads to keep women inmates occupied and supplied with female hygiene product

Karma Foundation and Navjivan Trust- the publishing house set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1929- are enrolling the women in Sabarmati Central Jail to make sanitary napkins in a unit set up within the premises.

If anyone thinks jail is a leveller of gender discrimination, think again. It can be quite stark, even in jail.

The men and women in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad are treated quite differently as far as work is concerned. In stereotypical fashion, only the men in the jail got to work, while the women had nothing to do and no opportunity to earn.

The men in this jail make furniture and snacks and get a good price for their wares. But it is more than just an occupation – it’s a job that keeps them busy and brings a bit of financial independence behind the bars. At times, they even make enough to send some money home. But then, they are men. For any misbehaviour, the typical punishment is denial of work. And that hurts.

Compare this situation with the women: Typically, a day starts for the women with no job assigned to them and the sun goes down with nothing done. A bit of grooming, bit of cat fighting or brooding and another day is struck off the calendar. Nothing to do, hence nothing to earn. This is the case in all of Gujarat – the jails in the state so far have never had any work for women inmates.

Now, things are beginning to change. Karma Foundation, a city-based NGO, and Navjivan Trust, the publishing house set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1929, are enrolling the women in Sabarmati Central Jail to make sanitary napkins in a unit set up within the premises.

In the first phase of the project that was initiated this week, about 12 of the 200 women inmates have been roped in. More women will be employed soon as the number of production units is poised to grow over time. The effort is aimed at reaching out to women lodged in all jails in Gujarat.

“This fundamentally alters their lives,” said Prashant Dayal of Navjivan Trust, who has been working with the inmates to propagate Gandhian values. The trust has been facilitating the project, creating a bridge between the jail and the NGO. A veteran crime reporter-turned-activist, Dayal has been instrumental in initiating several experiments to educate the inmates about Gandhian principles.

“For men, the typical punishment of any misdemeanour in jail is denial of work. Just sitting idle doing nothing is not easy – denial of little income that helps one buy a snack or a bar of soap at the jail canteen apart,” he said. “But with no work ever assigned to women, it has always been the most severe punishment so far.”

Typically, a woman convict or under-trial depends on family to bear her expenses in jail and those with bitter family ties have to rely on the mercy of others. These include donors who periodically provide them with their basic hygiene and grooming needs.

“When I first went to meet the women inmates in Sabarmati Central Jail, what struck me most was the lack of work for them,” said Priyanshi Patel, the managing trustee of Karma Foundation and an industrialist who was approached by Dayal with the idea to initiate the project. “With nothing to occupy their minds, fights are frequent. That is when we decided to take up this project on a turnkey basis at the jail.”

The idea behind setting up a sanitary pad manufacturing unit was to provide the women with a sustainable business model that not only addressed their own issues of menstrual hygiene, but also helped them to contribute positively to combat the issue in society, she explained. The male inmates of Sabarmati Central Jail have been engaged in various occupations, including carpentry, fabrication, bakery and diamond polishing, a top official said.

“But we had no work to offer which was suitable for female inmates. They would always request us to give them some work through which they could also earn some remuneration,” said VH Dhindor, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Sabarmati Central Jail.

The timing was perfect, too. A new women’s jail was inaugurated last month, located some distance away from the current premises. This affected many women inmates, who relied on male family members in the same jail to provide for them.

“It had become more and more important that they (the women) earn on their own through work so that they could meet their daily expenses,” Dhindor said.

The machine has been set up at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakh and material for Rs 80,000 has been provided, which, according to Patel, will generate about 50,000 pads. Patel’s NGO plans to distribute them to girls in municipal schools and other disadvantaged women.

“Some people are already showing interest in buying these pads as a charity measure,” Dayal said, explaining the revenue model. Patel said the revenue generated by the unit will be routed back into the project to expand it.

“At Karma Foundation, we have followed the age-old Gujarati tradition of businesses coming together to give back to society,” Patel said. “Gujarati businesses historically believed that their success squarely depends on the well-being and prosperity that they bring about by empowering communities.”

True to her claim, several business houses have lined up to extend a helping hand and take the project across all jails in the state.

“When I had joined Navjivan, I used to wonder how I would take Gandhi to the people. My life as a crime reporter had helped me to identify those behind the bars as the ones who needed Gandhi more, but mere Gandhian thoughts were not good enough,” said Dayal. “Like you need a well-fertilised piece of land for a good crop, one needs a well-fed stomach to think well and hence I started such efforts. Men in jails have always earned their living. But from now on, the women, too, shall have that dignity and that is what makes me happy.”